Missing: Madeleine McCann Madeleine McCann police are trying to trace five mystery Britons who owned flats in the block where she vanished.British detectives want to quiz them over who was in their apartments when [url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/madeleine mccann]the tot was abducted[/url] seven years ago.But we can reveal all five – whose identities have been withheld from police under Portuguese data protection laws – have allegedly refused to allow managers at the Algarve complex to pass their details to the Scotland Yard’s Operation Grange team.A source said: “They could hold vital clues to what happened. But it is down to the individuals if they want to get involved.“They were all asked by email if they were happy for their names to be put forward to the investigation – and they said they were not.“It may be that they did not want to get caught up in such a high profile case, but they could know something critical about Madeleine’s disappearance and may not even be aware of it.”

Police are working on the theory that three-year-old Madeleine’s abductor spied on her from inside the 59-block Ocean Club complex of holiday flats in Praia da Luz.Nearly all of the owners at the time were believed to be British and it has been claimed some properties may have been sub-let during May 2007 without the owners’ knowledge.Anybody with access to certain ­apartments could easily have kept an eye on the McCanns’ movements without ­looking suspicious.Madeleine’s dad Gerry has said he thinks they were being watched throughout their family break in ­apartment 5A.Officers are believed to have ­questioned owners of all but five of the remaining 58 flats after they agreed to help the investigation.They have pinpointed the mystery leaseholders as “persons of interest” who could help them unlock the case although none are suspected of wrongdoing.[url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/scotland yard]But Scotland Yard[/url] has been hampered by a combination of data protection regulations and the botched original Portuguese investigation.It is understood that a full list of owners was never made available even to local police.Sub-letting at the complex has made ­detectives’ work even harder as they try to build a picture of who was where at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance.

Our source said: “Operation Grange is trying to gather data through several agencies to collate a full picture of who was at the resort at that time.“They are working hard to gather this information as quickly as possible and have appealed for full co-operation from everybody involved. But they are having to tread on eggshells."They would happily go round Praia da Luz and knock on doors asking everybody for information if they could.“But they are still waiting for ­permission on the international letters of request they have sent to the ­Portuguese.” The formal letters are used to ask the Portuguese police to carry out certain pieces of work on the British force’s behalf.“The frustrations at Scotland Yard are growing day by day,” said our source.“The Portuguese police just keep referring them to what is in their files and that is not the full picture.”A source close to Madeleine’s heartbroken parents Gerry and Kate said: “It is deeply disappointing that these five owners have chosen not to come forward.”

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A spokesman for Mark Warner, who own the Ocean Club, would only say: “It has been our policy not to comment on the Madeleine McCann case for a quite a few years now.”Madeleine’s parents are now preparing to mark the seventh anniversary of her disappearance on May 3.Detectives are believed to be preparing to make critical arrests in the case as soon as they are given the green light to act on Portuguese soil by judges.A source said: “It seems there is lots of evidence still to work through.“If they are finally given permission to act it will be the Portuguese police making the arrests alongside the Met and it will be the same when it comes to the questioning.”Clarence Mitchell, a spokesman for the McCanns, said: “Kate and Gerry will not comment on any operational detail concerning Grange. It is purely a matter for Scotland Yard to pursue.”

.......Detectives are believed to be preparing to make critical arrests in the case as soon as they are given the green light to act on Portuguese soil by judges.A source said: “It seems there is lots of evidence still to work through. “If they are finally given permission to act it will be the Portuguese police making the arrests alongside the Met and it will be the same when it comes to the questioning.”

Clarence Mitchell, a spokesman for the McCanns, said: “Kate and Gerry will not comment on any operational detail concerning Grange. It is purely a matter for Scotland Yard to pursue.”

Detectives are believed to be preparing to make critical arrests yet are still scratching around getting a list together of who stayed at the OC the night of 3 May 2007. If they are poised to make arrests once they have the green light from the Portuguese, such information would be superfluous as they already have sufficient to arrest people. Almost as likely as the McCs being in a position to provide comment on any operational detail.

May 19, 2013 01:00 By Justin Penrose, Alex WellmanA British property owner in the resort of Praia Da Luz said the police had pinpointed “persons of interest” to the blocksThe view: Balcony overlooks Maddie flat and barBritish police probing Madeleine McCann’s disappearance now believe her kidnapper was staying in a holiday flat near the family.Scotland Yard detectives, who believe the youngster may still be alive, have narrowed their search to FOUR apartment blocks where the family were on holiday when the youngster went missing.They are trying to work out who was in them at the time in 2007.A British property owner in the Portuguese resort of Praia Da Luz told the Sunday Mirror police had pinpointed “persons of interest” to the blocks.He said officers had told him some properties had been sub-let at the time WITHOUT the ­owners’ knowledge.The owner said police had spoken to him twice about the Ocean Club apartment blocks, which include the one where Madeleine was snatched.“The officer who spoke to me blurted out the blocks ....five, six, two and four, in that order. I was amazed,” said the Brit.

It's going to be very interesting to see what this year's anniversaries of Madeleine's disappearance and her birthday bring in terms of media coverage. This Mirror article is just recycled carp but it can also be seen as the preamble to the usual anniversary coverage.

Will it be K & G at a candlelit vigil? Probably not.

Will it be K & G at a special service in Rothley? Probably not.

Will it be a message from a spokesperson to remove K & G from all things public with a heartfelt message that they wish to hold things privately and in view of the SY investigation they are maintaining their hope and cannot comment?

It reads as a Mirror non-story / page-filler. PJ seem to have checked out 54 out of 59 apartment owners - and found nothing. 5 of them (probably for tax reasons!) don't want to give the UK Plods their name at this late stage... There is NOTHING to suggest these apartments have any significance at all, but the Mirror has written it to make them look like suspicious apartments all harbouring gang-member look-outs - who are now being protected by dodgy ex-pats. Classic tabloid.

If Plod really is reduced to leaking this type of rubbish, then it shows just how little they currently have - no major leads - and still trying to find information which even they admit may not be of any use. Almost certainly the ILR's are exactly the same.

The story seems to just be a continuation of Plod's "it's not our fault we've achieved nothing" narrative - first we had BHH criticising them, then the "slow process" and "bungling PJ". Now we have "unhelpful ex-pats" and frustrated UK police champing at the bit to arrest the abductors.

All nonsense. And as the PJ keep reminding them - why not get with the program and read the case files...

@plebgate wrote:The cops should read the scrolling banner on this site, then they might heed Murat's words from last summer. GET EM ALL BACK TO PORTUGAL - according to Daily Express.

I think that's wishful thing from the Daily Express, Plep, if indeed Murat was referring to the McCanns et cie. The British police have no power to enforce their return to Portugal, neither have the PJ unless they attain a EAW which wouldn't be granted merely on the basis of wishing to question them.

I fear the PJ lost their opportunity when they were all allowed to return to the UK back in 2007. They would never have gotten off US soil and probably not the Uk either in similar circumstances.

@plebgate wrote:The cops should read the scrolling banner on this site, then they might heed Murat's words from last summer. GET EM ALL BACK TO PORTUGAL - according to Daily Express.

I think that's wishful thing from the Daily Express, Plep, if indeed Murat was referring to the McCanns et cie. The British police have no power to enforce their return to Portugal, neither have the PJ unless they attain a EAW which wouldn't be granted merely on the basis of wishing to question them.

I fear the PJ lost their opportunity when they were all allowed to return to the UK back in 2007. They would never have gotten off US soil and probably not the Uk either in similar circumstances.

Maybe diatribe, but at some point they will be questioned whether here or Portugal. IF any arrest is ever made, the persons discovering/ reporting the crime will be reinterviewed. Certainly if it goes to court they will be questioned by defence/prosecution.

I cannot see how they would ever refuse to go back to Portugal to answer questions, which as the Pt. police pointed out, could well help in the investigation into their missing child, when they returned willingly to attend a civil court case.

@plebgate wrote:Maybe diatribe, but at some point they will be questioned whether here or Portugal. IF any arrest is ever made, the persons discovering/ reporting the crime will be reinterviewed. Certainly if it goes to court they will be questioned by defence/prosecution.

If being the operative word, Pleb. but even in the event of anyone being arrested and reinterviewed, they would undoubtably revert to their arguido rights to refuse to answer any questions. The same would apply in any subsequent criminal proceedings, whereby as accused persons, they could not be forced to give evidence, thereby evading answering any questions.

I cannot see how they would ever refuse to go back to Portugal to answer questions, which as the Pt. police pointed out, could well help in the investigation into their missing child, when they returned willingly to attend a civil court case.

I cannot foresee any scenario where they would willingly return to Portugal to answer police questioning, particularly in the vein that they would know that far from helping in the quest to find their missing daughter, the motive would only be to incriminate them in the disappearance of the aforementioned. The difference between civil and criminal proceedings is that in the former, the questioning would be limited to their alleged suffering incurred as a result of Goncalo's actions, whereas in the latter, they would be questioned on matters relating to the actual disappearance of their daughter.

It reads as a Mirror non-story / page-filler. PJ seem to have checked out 54 out of 59 apartment owners - and found nothing.

It would appear, Bishop, that as with the PJ, the British police have managed to eliminate just about every living being on the planet with the exception of the McCanns and their friends.

And they are now having to recycle them Diatribe, some we have seen several times before.

Far from being a sleepy little seaside village, during an evening stroll, you are likely to bump into teams of british cleaners, gangs of burglars phoning each other, presumably saying, no, leave the booty grab a child, men lurking in stairwells, deranged ex employees of Warners seeking revenge, gypsies, wandering paedophiles, men climbing into bed with sleeping children and fathers collecting their kids from the creche and forgetting to mention it.

The huge variety of abductors makes the case less believe, imo. If they chose one and stuck with it for a while, you might think they were onto something, these reports only make the investigation look slapdash. I mean what happened to the man who was climbing into the beds of blonde English girls, did it fizzle out, or are they still looking for victims? and/or the predator?

Having seen how "persons of interest" have been branded villain right away, the incontinence of operation Grange, plus indeed the parents non-actions I would stay away from this "investigation" as far as possible.

If there would have been anything of interest I would have brought that to the attention of the Portuguese, PJ or otherwise, long ago.

Nobody has to prove his or hers innocence, Andy and his cohorts have to prove guilt.

____________________"And if Madeleine had hurt herself inside the apartment, why would that be our fault?" Gerry